LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch review

LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch is almost everything older fans of Project 626 could want, taking inspiration from LEGO Star Wars to offer a premium product at a premium price.

Coming in as a decent-sized, buildable and somewhat playable version of one of Disney’s most popular modern characters, LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch ticks a lot of boxes that seasoned Stitch fans would hope such a LEGO set could tick. Completing your ‘ohana comes at a bit of a high price, though, so is he worth the expense?

— LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch set details —

Theme: LEGO Disney Set name: 43249 Stitch Release: March 1, 2024

Price: £59.99 / $64.99 / €64.99 Pieces: 730 Minifigures: 0

LEGO: Order now

— Where to buy LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch —

LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch is available to buy at LEGO.com and in LEGO Stores, as well as from select third-party retailers, starting with the Disney Store.

— LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch build —

Think of 43249 Stitch as a premium product. It may have a 9+ age recommendation on the box, but for what he can do (not a lot) and for that price of £59.99 / $64.99 / €64.99, it tells you what you need to know. You may get 730 pieces in the box – a relatively standard rate from the LEGO Group – but this is intended as a limited-play display piece to offer a thorough one-time build experience of a high-quality version of the character intended to then sit on your shelf in all its colour and expression.

Where LEGO Star Wars recently had the Helmets Collection, LEGO Disney gives you this buildable character – perhaps the start of its own collection – with a similar piece count, similar build experience, and similar end result.

Stitch isn’t as hands-off as those LEGO Star Wars helmets, mind – his head swivels and his ears importantly enjoy a large range of movement for sitting on ball joints. Between those two small actions you can do quite a lot to change the expression Stitch exudes whilst sat in his Hawaiian shirt enjoying his ice cream.

And for such an animated…animated character from Disney’s back catalogue to place into larger-scale buildable LEGO form, getting his expression just right across the eyes, mouth and ears is the most important aspect to such a set. And as you can see from the photos, the LEGO designers have done just that.

From those big printed eyes to the sharp-teeth smile and the wholly moveable ears – complete with chip at the end of one – it breathes life into this set in a way that turns a quite interesting LEGO build into that little blue guy we all know and love.

As we say, the build itself is a curiosity for how the various parts to his body are assembled and come together for that seated pose, while the techniques at play across the head in particular are far more intricate and smart than you may otherwise be expecting. Alongside such a vibrant colour palette there’s almost as much to enjoy in building Stitch as there is to appreciate of the final model.

If there’s one ‘what if’, it is around the lack of manoeuvrability across the rest of the model – Stitch is locked into that seated position, where a full body that is poseable to stand up and move around could really have been something. Imagine how much that would have cost, and if they release a Stitch that can do it all then there’s no room for an entire series of posed models like this one…

Ultimately, 43249 Stitch is a premium display piece that is designed well, builds interestingly and captures the spirit and expression of the mischievous Hawaiian shirt-wearing little blue alien.

— LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch price —

LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch comes in at £59.99 / $64.99 / €64.99, which, as we say, is most comparable with the recent helmets series from the LEGO Star Wars theme – premium products designed to be interesting builds that produce accurate, high-quality display pieces.

Stitch certainly fits the bill, but it’s hardly like most of those LEGO Star Wars helmets felt like the best value at £45-70 a pop, and it’s the same here. This is an excellent display piece that really will appeal to Stitch fans (of which there are many), but it’s also worth waiting for that first discount before picking it up, so as to really maximise the value.

— LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch pictures —

— LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch pros and cons —

43249 Stitch is another excellent LEGO set in 2024 that ventures into relatively new territory for the LEGO Disney theme, albeit one with very few risks involved – a large-scale buildable Stitch is going to be on a lot of people’s wishlists. Even so, the LEGO Group doesn’t take that audience for granted and delivers something that is as loveable as the character on screen. It’s all in his expression, and this version of Stitch captures it perfectly.

LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch pros	LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch cons
Perfect expression	Body is locked into one position…
Moveable ears is way more fun than it should be	…as is the mouth
Interesting build	Relatively expensive

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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— Alternatives to LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch —

LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch is most comparable to the likes of 75318 The Child and 75335 BD-1 (review), both of which are cute, expressive builds of popular characters, but not coincidentally are now retired. It leaves Stitch as the go-to cute build on LEGO shelves at the moment, with little else to compare one for one. If you like Stitch then there’s always 40674 Stitch from the BrickHeadz line.

— LEGO Disney 43249 Stitch FAQs —